Suzume

Suzume was the third and final entry in a thematic trilogy created by acclaimed Japanese animator and director, Makoto Shinkai, with the previous two films within this designated ‘’disaster trilogy’’ being his 2019 film, Weathering with You, and his 2016 film, Your Name, both of which are considered some of the best animated movies of their respective years and even of all time. With all three films containing some form of catastrophic event used as the backdrop against a coming-of-age teen romance plot, Shinkai’s work has been credited for its enriching visuals and imagery, relatable characters and themes, and their incredible production and execution, having such a strong pedigree that even though Suzume is technically seen as the weakest of the three, it doesn’t stop it from being a crowd and critical favorite.

While on her way to school, 17-year-old Suzume Iwato (voiced by Nichole Sakura) is smitten after bumping into a young man who’s searching for abandoned locations in the area. After directing him towards a nearby abandoned onsen resort, she tails him and finds a lone door standing in the center of the wreckage which shows a beautiful star-filled hillside but can’t be walked into and quickly spawns a monstrous giant worm emerging from within. After seeing and helping the boy named Souta (voiced by Josh Keaton) close the door, he tells her that he is part of a descendancy of ‘’Closers’’ who dedicate their lives to locating and locking specific doors within abandoned areas in Japan that prevent this demonic worm from entering their world and causing earthquakes. Realizing that she inadvertently broke a seal holding the beast in check, which has now turned into a cat named Daijin (voiced by Lena Josephine Marano) and cursed Souta into the body of a three-legged wooden children’s chair (which holds sentimental value to Suzume as it was crafted by her deceased mother). Suzume decides to tag along with Souta to make up for her mistakes, track down Daijin (who isn’t willing to return to an inanimate object) and find the other doorways needed to prevent another cataclysm, forming a tight bond as they journey across the country, meet different kinds of people, and dive into repressed memories while attempting to save the world.

Suzume does feel like the least of the three movies within this disaster trilogy but considering how good this film still is as a whole; that’s a testament to a very talented creative rather than a detractor on him and this film. While the intimate moments and main character dynamics are ever-so slightly weakened by the film’s break-neck pace, and certain reoccurring tropes arguably hold back the film from being truly special and fantastic, the solid scripting and direction, very likeable cast, and expectedly gorgeous imagery still make it one worthy of being in such an acclaimed line-up.

Conceived on the basis of drawing attention to ruined and/or abandoned locations throughout Japan (which aren’t given the same kind of respectful ritual reused land is given when turned into something new), Shinkai retained many of his classic tropes when constructing this film, like a male and female lead, mixing real-world teen issues and relationships with a supernatural component that can lead to some cinematic sequences, and working in some form of natural disaster in an allegorical sense, or (in Suzume case) actually reference it for plot purposes, with the film incorporating the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami directly instead of indirectly like with his past two films as a way of expressing the grief experienced during the time rather than mystifying it. With many of his reoccurring traits being placed into another one of these features, the results had the same kind of positive effect, with the movie being a huge hit both domestically and internationally and even became the fourth highest-grossing Japanese film of all time when released, but while the strengths of this creative still result in an imaginative, gripping and emotionally-engaging flick, you can start to feel some of these tropes holding back what could’ve been more interesting aspects.

As it stands, Suzume is a very well told movie that from the get-go, doesn’t waste time and jumps right into the chaos and conflict, leading to a road trip-style feature that jumps between a slice-of-life bonding romance flick, and a grand, world-ending mythical tale focusing on spirits, doors to other dimensions, and a lead character being turned into a wooden chair. Despite how haphazard and bizarre this may sound, it’s easy to follow and even manages to offer a few surprises as it goes along, with the charming cast, beautiful imagery and engrossing atmosphere, allowing for a lot of great moments that keep you invested in its roughly two-hour running time. However, while most of the film is very good and shows that Makoto Shinkai is still capable of producing something great with a familiar outline, not everything about this film is spotless, and explains why it’s viewed as lesser. Because the film is constantly moving, it doesn’t allow for a ton of bonding between most of the cast (even the two main leads), and while it can slow down for some emotional beats, it doesn’t hit as hard because the established relationships are good, but nothing great. The third act also drags a little bit (and doesn’t feel as interesting due to the disappearance of the male lead), but aside from a few nitpicks, the movie is still very well paced, performed, animated, and written, resulting in an all-around solid feature that still manages to offer something fresh and unexpected.

Anime films and shows that have solid dubs always should be respected, because in an era where most audiences are now more comfortable watching foreign material in their native language, it can feel like a dub isn’t necessary (especially if the dub in question isn’t very good). Thankfully, much like how Studio Ghibli provided some solid English dubbing, Shinkai’s work also had very good dubs (which makes sense given how successful his films have been on a global front), and Suzume is no different. None of the voice actors ever feel out of place or like they are forced to give an odd line read in order to match up with the lip moments (which can happen even in good dubs with good voice actors), and they do a great job making these characters who are slightly underwritten, feel really connectable and real. They have some layers to them and the main two leads in particular are given decent backstories to work with, but because most of the film is spent going from one location to another usually explaining exposition or elaborating what’s currently going on, there isn’t a ton of time to offer reflection and therefore, what could’ve been great character arcs instead feel a little half baked. Both Nichole Sakura and Josh Keaton do a really good job working off each other and result in good chemistry, but the romance does feel rushed and forced in places and can’t fully work as a whole because the story takes central focus over their blossoming feelings (it also doesn’t help that they can’t have too many romantic scenes with a chair).

The rest of the cast are also pretty okay but are weakened by having even less backstory and personality to work with, and don’t manage to stand out as well as the leads. Some of the folks that Suzume comes across on her journey voiced by Rosalie Chiang, Amanda C. Miller and Allegra Clark are pretty charming, and during the third act, Joe Zieja does good as one of Shouta’s friends trying to help look for him, but none really stand as extremely memorable characters with fleshed out pasts. Suzume’s aunt guardian, Tamiki (voiced by Jennifer Sun Bell) has the potential to be interesting, with her struggle being a single middle-aged guardian to her deceased sister’s daughter and grappling with her life being halted by being forced to become a parent, but since the two are separate for most of the film and hastily resolve their unspoken conflict in the final portion rather easily, it doesn’t really feel that fulfilling.

With both Your Name and Weathering with You delivering some truly incredible and grand animation that didn’t use the fact that they were intimate coming-of-age teen romances on the surface to hold back on the animation budget, Suzume is as equally as large and as magnificently drawn and animated, with extremely fluid line work and movements, expansive backgrounds that on occasion really create a sense of scale and presence to a location (particularly during the climax), and dazzling lighting and colorwork that feels extra shiny and detailed but never to the point that it goes outside of reality. With character designs by Masayoshi Tanaka, animation direction by Kenichi Tsuchiya, and art direction by Takumi Tanji, the film feels on brand for Shinkai and uses his distinct style in writing and visuals to keep things on brand but still adds enough new things to still be interesting. For the brief instances of action that are present, the camera work and imagery is effective engaging and does liven up what could’ve been a pretty down-to-earth presentation (which is typical of most of his work), and with that mixed with the passionate vocal performances and swelling musical score by Japanese rock band, Radwimps (who collaborated with Shinkai on Your Name and Weathering with You) and Kazuma Jinnouchi, the size and importance of what’s being showcases is genuinely felt.

Suzume is a sign that Makoto Shinkai is one amazing filmmaker, as for a movie this good to be considered the weakest of his personally created disaster trilogy, is a sign that he’s someone to look out for, and with this being his as-of-now latest release, the next should be very exciting. It is true that it does have some slight problems like not developing the characters enough, and the rushed pacing not fully allowing for more bonding time, but with a very charming cast, fantastic imagery, and a story that keeps you interested and isn’t hard to follow in spite of its oddness, Suzume is a door that’s worth stepping through.